Blue Beryl
Intelligent conversations about Buddhism, Asian medicine, and embodied spirituality.
Blue Beryl
Critique, Wonder, and Chinese Anatomy, with Lan A. Li
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Dr. Pierce Salguero & Dr. Lan Li
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Season 2
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Episode 9
Today I sit down with Blue Beryl's producer, Lan A. Li, a historian of Chinese science, medicine, and the body. We talk about their life-long practice of qigong, the limits of academic critique, and the integration of divergent epistemologies in studying Chinese anatomy. Along the way, we discuss Lan’s new book, Body Maps: Improvising Meridians and Nerves in Global Chinese Medicine, Lan’s relationship to Islam, and how to cultivate wonder through academic study.
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Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Lan’s website
- Lan Li, “The Vital Other: Integrative Medicine and India” (2012)
- Lan Li, “Acupuntura e Moxabustão” (2023)
- Lan Li and Pierce Salguero, Jivaka Project Philadelphia (2015-2020)
- Pierce’s blogs on Ugly Truths about Grad School, Metamodernism, Metamodern Asian Medicine, and Polyperspectivalism
- Lan Li, Body Maps: Improvising Meridians and Nerves in Global Chinese Medicine (2025)
